Full disclosure: I was a gigantic “Weird Al” Yankovic fan as a kid. Al was my first concert. Bad Hair Day was my first CD purchase. I loved “The ‘Weird Al’ Show.” I own UHF on DVD. Point is, I’m probably a bit more biased than usual on this show recommendation.
Bias aside, I’ll be the first to admit that Yankovic has lost a bit of steam over the past decade or so. Sure, part of it is probably just me getting older. But, as Al’s younger-skewing demographic becomes increasingly more interconnected and jaded, the parody artist’s safe, PG brand of humor has started to feel a little quaint, and his sense of cultural and musical awareness has become stale.
Regardless, this is the man who gave us “Eat It,” “Fat,” “Amish Paradise,” “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi,” “Yoda,” “Like a Surgeon,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” and other classic gems! This is one of the few artists MTV has ever been comfortable turning over full reign of the network to for days at a time. This is the artist that made it cool to be not cool, that made comedy a viable mainstream musical outlet, that gave the nerdy kids and the misfits and the comedy fans someone to look up to. He virtually cornered the market on parody songs, and pioneered the art of the comedy music video. “Weird Al” Yankovic is a legend in his own right and that alone is worth the price of admission (which, by the way, starts at just $29).
“Weird Al” is performing at TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall on Thursday, April 18. The show starts at 8PM, it’s all ages, and tickets are still available right here. Yankovic will also be performing at Bonnaroo in June.